The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-01-05
INTERSTATE COMMERCE.
Prospects of the Bill Regulating
Railroad Traffic.
Senator Wilson's Speech in Favor
of the Measure.

Among the most important measures be-
fore Congress this session Is the Interstate
Commerce bill, which provides for the super
vision of railroads and freight rates in the
various States The bill has been before
Congress several years, but its promoters
have been unable heretofore to secure its
passage This session the Conference Com
mittees of both Houses agreed upon report
in its favor, and on the last day before the
holiday recess it came up in the Senate, but
after speech in its favor had been madeb by
Senator Wilson the bill went over until as-
ter the holidays. Senator Cullom announcing
that he would then ask the Senate to take it
up daily and keep it up until vote was
reached. A Washington special said OF the
bill:
While it is evident that the views Of many
representatives have changed since the Rea.
gan Interstate bill passed the House ut tho
last session, it does not seem probable
that the report of thu Conference
Committee will be rejected. "A few
extreme members complain that the
House conferees yielded too much and,
threaten to vote against the report but it is
not likely that many Of them will do so.
Some of the Western members who were
among the most earnest supporters OF the bill,
now saw that they are in doubt as to whether
the measure will not injure rather than
benefit the farmers and stock growers OF the
West, but that the sentiment III their districts
is so strong in favor of action by Congress
that they will be constrained to vote for the
conference report.
The truth is that when the bill passed the
House not one man in three understood its
provisions or carel to.
One thing which gives many of the sup
porters of the conference report considerable
uneasiuess is the suggestion that the long
haul and short haul" provision, If enforced,
will be likely to divert the transcont:nenta.
traffic, as we'll as large part OF the gram
and meat traffic, from the United States to
Canada. But there seems to lie no reason to
expect that any or all of the considerations
involved will receive weight enough to de-
feat the conference report.
In the Senate to-day Mr.. Cullom called up
the conference report on the bill, and Mr.:
Wilson, of Iowa, thereupon addressed
the Seuate in favor Of the adoption
terview published in the New York
Tribune in which President King, of
the Erie, recommended five boards of COM
missione.s to examine all the questions in
yolyed. That, he said, simply meant delay.
The public demanded action. Nothing, said
Mr.. Wilson, had been done more to demor-
aliZe railroad managers. Officers ana agents
than po,ls Under the present system
losses on through business were
unloaded on the business of the
intermediate or local points. This
practice was, in itself. an outrage As the
bin came from the House it authorized, by
implication railroad companies to charge as
much for short as for long haul. But
not 81 under the conference report: because
it provided that nothing in the bill! should
be construed as authorizing a railroad
company 10 charge and receive as
great compensation for q short as fer
along distance. The people recognized the
hsNthful aid which railroads had given to
the development and progress OF The country;
but they insisted on the enactment OF law
which would aid them in the recovery of
some of their lost rights. They were wiling
that the railroad companies should proSTer
and should be reasonably paid for their SER
vices; but they did not recognize them as
their masters. =,
AS an illustration Of the injustice Of the
present system, he stated that on the 18th Of
this month corn was selling in western
Iowa, where it had been n good crop, at from
60 to g cents bushel, in Chicago at 81 cents
a bushel. and in Southeastern Iowa, where
the crop had been a failure, at 40 to AZ cents
q busheI. so that Western Iowa corn was
being sold in Chicago at from 70 cents
busbeI less than in Eastern Iowa.